7 Strange things about growing up in Fouke

             Somewhere between Middle Earth and Oz lies the mysterious realm of Fouke. A very misunderstood place of both fun and controversy. If the creators of South Park came out and publicly stated that Fouke was their inspiration, it wouldn't surprise anyone. I can recall many instances of strange happenings that I have encountered over the years growing up in Fouke and I could spend days dissecting some of the vast characters that inhabit the town, but for the sake of public consumption I will stick to some of the more known occurrences.

1. The Fouke Monster

 This is a given. The Fouke Monster or the "Legend of Boggy Creek" is without a doubt what Fouke is most known for. After the Southern Sasquatch made local headlines in the early 70's, Director Charles B. Pierce wasted no time in turning the story into a feature film that would take the legend all across the country. Big foot hunters from all from around the world  travel to Fouke in hopes of finding this elusive creature. Several books, reality tv shows and b-rated movies have also taken part in the legend. Fouke acknowledges this heritage with a local store called "Monster Mart" and an annual "Monster Day Festival". Despite these public displays I have always felt that the general public and surrounding areas like Texarkana really don't realize just how famous the monster is. I remember growing up it was not that big of a deal. The monster just seemed like a back-up mascot to the panther. We were the Fouke Panthers and I had never seen a panther in real life, so I felt pretty safe from a monster that had been talked about my entire life. It was only until I was older that I realized just how famous our 2nd mascot really was. When I tried to explain to people in New York City where I was from I would always start with Texarkana, but nobody knew about Texarkana. Every single person had heard about Fouke and the Legend of Boggy Creek.

 2. The Tony Alamo Cult: A new monster comes to town

If you were a notorious tax cheat who once made designer clothes for Michael Jackson, who also kept your wife's dead body for 6 months while trying to resurrect her and were the leader of a cult with followers world wide... where would you make your headquarters? Fouke of course! In the late 1990s after Tony Alamo was released from Federal prison he turned a once existing Fouke store into a compound where he and his followers would dwell. While the rest of the world was concerned about the Y2K bug, the Fouke Universe was worried about this new presence in the community. You would think a 15 acre anti-government cult compound with high tech security cameras and 24 hour security guards would seek a refuge in the depths of the mysterious Boggy Creek...but no...they set up shop right on highway 71 at the city line and stuck out like a sore thumb. They had without a doubt the most inviting store front and landscaping. Everyone has a story of driving down the dead end road that leads to the backside of the compound only to get followed by a security van with blacked out windows. It's also bizarre to note that the Superintendent's house was separated from the Alamo compound by a wooden fence. I remember several times getting on top of the Coach's/Superintendents house with friends (sorry Coach Smith) and looking in on the compound with binoculars only to see security cameras on the Alamo side looking back. There also seemed to be some kind of constant drama going on with the citizens and the Alamo group. Tony Alamo tried his best to fit in and gain acceptance. He built a park open to the city and even provided a portion of the city with generators during the dreaded ice storm of 2000. Despite his best efforts he was never able to shake his infamous reputation. Being featured on Oprah & Dr. Phil did not help his case. In 2008, close to 10 years since the the Alamo cult showed up, the compound was raided by the FBI and Alamo was charged with multiple charges of sexual abuse and child pornography. He was allegedly married to a 8 year old. I will never know if Tony Alamo was a cunning con man or if he was crazy enough to actually believe his own words, but considering his sexual convictions i'm leaning more towards the side of crazy. Either way "Remember the Alamo" will always have a completely different meaning in Fouke.

3. Fouke: The party Central

It is not rare for a under policed economically depressed small town to be home to a high percentage of alcoholics. This social condition can be found in many small towns all across America and the roots of such behavior can be traced back as far as prohibition or even further. In Fouke the major alcohol consumption was by underage drinkers. Fouke was more like a college town, without the college...and a lot more redneck. A keg party in Fouke was not a special occasion like most places, it was every single weekend. Fouke was a haven for underage drinking. Minors from other schools from all around the area would come to Fouke to party. Every small town where teens were starved for entertainment had their own drinking spots, but I  doubt they were as big and as consistent as Fouke. I documented and participated in the last few years of this partying era in the made for vcr movies known as "FoukeAholica" I rarely traveled to Texarkana on the weekends, because everyone knew the biggest parties were in Fouke. I think the roots of this trend were started when Louisiana became the only state that was able to sale alcohol to 18 year olds leaving Fouke teens 10 minutes away from legal alcohol possession. The Federal government passed a law forcing all states to make the minimum drinking age 21 in 1986, but there was a loophole in Louisiana that allowed for the sale to 18 year olds. This loophole was eventually closed in 1995, several years before my time, but the party culture in Fouke had already been entrenched in the community. I think today things have normalized and Fouke is just like every other school where teens just abuse prescription drugs instead.

4. The largest Flag Pole in Arkansas

Much like 9/11 everyone that was in Fouke school at the time remembers where they were when the State's largest flagpole fell down. For years Fouke School District was home to the largest flag pole in the state. Why? I'm not really sure, but I remember it being there for several years. Why this large display would not be somewhere more prominent I have no idea, but when it fell, it luckily missed several highly populated structures that could have caused irreparable damage and injury. The incident happened sometime around 1996 or1997. It was a very strange occurrence that would only happen in Fouke.

5. Fouke kids pick cotton on field trip

The school of Fouke took the "Field" trip a little bit too literal in the early elementary years. One of the first field trips I can remember was going to the Heigle farm and picking cotton. I'm not denying the educational value of the trip, I just think that it's really weird. We even took the unprocessed cotton back home with us in large trash bags. Maybe in a strange round about way this was a way of redeeming the fact that we were an all white school. "See we don't support slavery, our kids pick our cotton"

6.  6th Grade teacher brings bed of nails to school

I may be wrong, but it seems to me that the cliche science experiment around the 6th and 7th grade is most schools is the dissection of a frog. At Fouke you lay on a bed of nails. Again, I fully understand the educational value of weight distribution, but the fact that one of the teachers has a bed of nails and brings it to school every year is quite odd. Most people wouldn't deny that Fouke may be a little behind the times, but I never really thought we were as far back as the medieval times.

7. Fouke principal flies around in a Hot Air Balloon

 What comparison to Oz would be justifiable without having a principal of your high school flying around in a hot air balloon. Anytime there was a hot air balloon in the sky, there was little doubt on who was flying it. Mr. Hickey is no longer a Fouke resident, but if you are ever in the Hot Springs area be sure and look to the sky and you might just witness the wizard of Fouke flying high again.

When Fouke natives see other Fouke natives at places like Wal-Mart there is nod of acknowledgement even if the two have never spoken to each other before. There is a mutual respect much like holocaust survivors that former Fouke citizens have with one another. It's because we all know that Fouke is not your typical backwards southern redneck town. It is much stranger and unique than that. Many people are ashamed of the Fouke heritage, but I fully embrace the madness. Everywhere else just seems lame to me and despite what some people may think my public education has never made me feel inferior in college (except for math, core plus was a bad idea) If I had the choice to go back in time and choose one of the elite Texarkana schools, i would stay in Fouke....if nothing else for the strange entertainment and memories.